Mobile device management (MDM) solutions enable centralized management of handheld computers, tablets, smartphones and other devices that your clients rely on to run their businesses. With MDM solutions, managed services providers (MSPs) can manage onboarding, provisioning, and updates as well as batching or automating certain tasks, saving time and enhancing service. MDM solutions can also quickly locate lost devices and monitor device status so you know when it’s time for maintenance.
With the growing number of businesses and organizations that make mobility a part of their strategies, it’s not surprising that the mobile device management market is growing. According to MarketsandMarkets, the global MDM market is expected to grow from $2.36 billion in 2017 to $7.86 billion by 2023, a CAGR of 22.8 percent.
But will that growth occur in the vertical market or markets your MSP business serves? Here are seven markets where mobile device management can provide significant ROI:
Warehouses and distribution centers
Many warehouse operations depend on mobile devices for processes including receiving, put-away, picking, packing, dispatching, and returns. Warehouses can use various mobile devices, including handheld computers, barcode scanners, mobile printers, rugged tablets, wearable devices, and vehicle-mounted computers. The sheer volume of devices used in large-scale operations would require dedicated resources if the business uses manual processes to keep all devices patched, updated and maintained and monitor them for safe, compliant use.
Transportation and field service
When mobile devices are used on the road, it’s vital to have a way to manage them remotely, locate them, maximize uptime and ensure secure, reliable communications. Mobile device management solutions make configuring new devices more straightforward, enable bring-your-own-device (BYOD) policies, and offer geofencing to control where devices can be used.
Healthcare
Healthcare providers want to access EHR data from mobile devices whenever needed and be more accessible to their patients. However, they can’t sacrifice patient privacy and data security to meet those objectives. Therefore, it’s crucial that healthcare organizations control access to mobile devices and remotely wipe lost or stolen devices. Healthcare providers must also carefully monitor data leakage to ensure sensitive information is encrypted in email or other communications. Finally, Healthcare organizations may also need to monitor and limit mobile device usage to provide enough bandwidth for mission-critical applications.
Banking, financial services and insurance
Banks, insurance companies and financial services companies are working to provide a high level of customer service, and mobile devices can give them new opportunities to accomplish that. However, the information transmitted to a bank, financial planner, or insurance agency is highly sensitive – and extremely attractive to cybercriminals. Mobile device management can help businesses in this vertical keep information secure with encryption, document sharing restrictions, and data loss prevention. MDM solutions can also enable them to enforce strict access control policies.
Retail and restaurant
Mobile devices allow retailers, restauranteurs and other merchants to enhance customer engagement. For example, with a tablet or smartphone, sales associates can easily access the information customers need as they shop, and restaurant servers can provide convenient tableside ordering and payment. To consistently offer these types of customer service, however, merchants need to ensure mobile devices are updated, secure and functioning properly.
Education
Many K-12 schools have deployed large numbers of tablets for students and teachers. An infographic from THE Journal states that 77 percent of K-12 schools have mobile device carts, 49 percent have one-to-one programs, and 39 percent allow BYOD. The infographic also points out some of the most prominent challenges schools face with mobile deployments are keeping up with device maintenance and upgrades, keeping up with network demands, maintaining security, and providing teachers with control of students’ devices in the classroom. These are all challenges that MDM solutions can help them overcome.
Government
From virtual team meetings to remote inspection management and medical consultations, federal, state, and local government workforces are increasingly more mobile. The next generation of virtual interactions is also here, with tech companies (e.g., Microsoft, Meta) making massive investments in the metaverse, 3D immersive, and collaborative experiences accessed via mobile devices or virtual reality headsets. Of course, challenges to managing mobile deployments are the same for government agencies as for organizations and businesses in other vertical markets — but, often, the stakes can be higher with information related to national security and the welfare of citizens at risk.
The MSP’s Role in Mobile Device Management
Even if a prospect has already deployed mobile devices with the goal of greater efficiency and productivity, they may not have bargained for the time it takes to maintain devices and monitor use. MDM solutions allow you to manage your clients’ mobile devices efficiently and cost-effectively. In addition, checking the status of device health can help prevent failure and downtime, and the security features of an MDM solution can reduce risks to their networks and their data.
Using an MDM solution, you can enforce your client’s policies for mobile device use and provide insights that help your clients understand device utilization. This allows clients to make the most of their mobility investment and prevents unnecessary device purchases.
Managing mobile devices with an MDM solution and bundling it with the other products and services will allow you to provide real value and form strong partnerships with your clients. 
